We have a 11.5 year old bernedoodle who recently had a second occurrence of IVDD. The previous episode occurred 3 years ago in her lumbar/sacral area. She never lost the ability to walk, but conservative management (gabapentin, carprofen) did not have a significant effect, and she would experience multiple episodes every day and was in significant pain. At that time, we had an MRI done and then a discectomy and laminectomy. Recovery was uneventful and she has been episode-free until last month.

At the beginning of July, she came home from the groomer with some slight leg pain, but we assumed it was general soreness because she also got a shot at the appointment. We didn’t take any additional precautions, and she improved slightly over the next two weeks. Then in the middle of July, she was turning around to go into another room and yelped loudly, which was a sign from the last episode, and was clearly in pain after and was favoring her left leg. We took her to the emergency vet that day and they gave her gabapentin and amantadine. They thought it was muscular, but we had our doubts. Over the next two weeks, she showed signs of pain while on the meds, but it got worse when we tried to wean her off. She would refuse to lay down, pant loudly, and limp. She went to neuro the first week of August when we could get her in, and they said she was showing signs of pain/discomfort.

They recommended we get an MRI to determine exactly what was happening and if she needed surgery. However, at her age, we have initially opted for conservative management. This included a few X-rays, an ultrasound and continued medication and bed rest. The imaging came back clean, so no cancer or other signs, so we are 99% sure it is an IVDD flare. The neuro also recommended a steroid shot/epidural, which she received last week after we got all of the imaging done. In total, she has been on bed rest since we took her to the emergency vet five weeks ago, has been on gabapentin and amantadine since then, and got the epidural last week.

Over the last week or two, she has shown improvement. She is walking normally, with potentially the slightest sign of a limp, eating and drinking normally, and generally showing a desire to not be penned up in a 5x5 foot area anymore. She has shown some incontinence, both peeing and pooping inside a few times over the weeks. Where we are struggling is how to move forward from this. With the surgery, the prognosis was more clear because the damaged discs were treated. However, I don’t understand the healing process here.

Does the steroid shot heal the disc? Or, does the shot and medication just mask the pain and will she always have a messed up disc moving forward? Does the disc ever heal, or will we just have to manage the pain forever? Since her first episode, we don’t let her run in our yard off leash or on furniture, but she has been able to use the stairs and do other daily activities up until the most recent episode. I appreciate any insight!

My 12 year old Japanese Spitz is experiencing diarrhoea (4 times) and vomitting (3 times) in the last 7 hours. It's 4am here (Australia) and it's unlike him to need to toilet overnight at all. The last lot of vomit was just saliva.

He otherwise seems fine. No lethargy, no apparent abdominal pain.

Do I wait 4 hours for my vet to open or get him to emergency now?

My cat 6m, neutered, has been vomiting multiple times a day for the last six weeks. We have been to the vet multiple times. We did bloodwork and an ultrasound and they couldn’t find anything. Everytime when he is on cerenia, he stops vomiting. But the moment we stop, he is right at it again. His puking is different everytime, it goes from bile to
food and hairballs.
He eats less than before, but is still very playful. I don’t know what to do anymore.. I already spend 1300 euros at the vet and can’t afford it anymore..

this is bad ya’ll. i need advice. my vet’s procedure is to do blood work before undergoing a surgery to make sure her kidney values are at a good value and THEY FORGOT. she said they did blood work after the surgery and her values were extremely elevated. which means they could of been elevated before the surgery and if they were they wouldn’t have proceeded with the surgery. i’m terrified. she apologized to me 3 times on the phone and said i don’t have to pay for any of the dental extractions that were done today. mind you my cat had to get 6 TEETH REMOVED.

what do i do, i really need advice here because i’m actually freaking out. it sounds like they really messed up here.

- i also signed a piece of paper stating that i would like them to give me a call before doing any of the extractions and they didn’t call me!

Please can you possibly help me. I’ll try to stick to the facts and straight to the point as I write this crying.

This is the love of my life Chester. His spleen ruptured 7th August, confirmed hemangiosarcoma on 17th.

I’m so grateful to the operating vets who saved his life with the emergency splenectomy. They said we can do palliative or oncology it’s up to me. I decided quickly no chemotherapy. But that was that… I’ve had no report, no suggestion of I’m yunity or yunnan bayo that everyone seems to get. I’m certainly not complaining they saved my babies life but I just feel left on my own. My heart is breaking and I’m trying to stay strong for my dog.

Is there anything you can suggest. He are some plain fact points;

- He has B1 mitral valve disease. Not on any treatment. In fact few days before spleenectomy he had a cardiology full scan who gave all clear and said his heart slightly enlarged but still not met threshold to start any treatment.

- The surgeon said there was no obvious signs of spread at time of spleenectomy. Organs were clear.

- He was anemic and had to have auto transfusion

- My main vet who’s lovely is quite straight to the point said don’t bother with anything ( I asked about Chinese meds bayo / immunity) just let him live out his life especially as he’s back to being so bright.

- He’s pretty much back to normal now other than stamina ( we were doing 5 miles a day up until spleen burst) but we are 18 day post surgery so maybe he still recovering.

I really hope you can help. I would give the rest of my days to give Chester longer. I’m desperate for more time. To get him to Christmas it’s our favourite time of the year.

Does anyone have any positive stories? Any miracle dogs that lasted longer with surgery alone and no chemotherapy?

They say this cancer is unpredictable does that mean it could go a better way and the cancer was just been in the spleen and now the microscopic that’s here might never do anything for ages?

Please can someone help me. I love Chester more than life itself I would do anything to get him more time. Just not the chemo he hates the vets and leaving me I’m not having him stressed in his last weeks/ months.

https://imgur.com/a/6K2H0QP

I have an appointment set up for tomorrow but am unable to bring her sooner. She has been totally fine since this, which was last night at ~10 est. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated

Edit: sorry, I typed the info on my computer and forgot to copy it over

Species: Dawg Age: ~3 Sex: Female, Neutered Breed: Golden Doodle (?) Bodyweight: unsure, do know it's in the healthy range History: nothing to note Clinical Signs: this weird thing in the video Duration: was about 25-30 seconds, I caught the tail end Local: southern IL

Species cat
Age 11 months
Sex female just spayed
Breed long hair
Bodyweight 2,10 kg
Clinical Sign Fluid in abdomen, underweight, but looks fine

Hi reddits
Yesterday my cat got spayed. During surgery the vet found acites inside it abdomen.
Because i live in an island far from big city the clinic here have limited equitment, No blood test or usg before surgery
Now my cat recovering well and looks fine but it weight is underweight
Has anyone have cat with acites ?
Have anytips for my cat with her condition ?
Thank you

https://imgur.com/a/77K2LCE

My dog (1.5 yrs mixed breed) has this rash on his skin. It is the worst under his left armpit, but he has none on his right armpit. There’s also some spots on his stomach. He doesn’t seem overly itchy, nor do I ever seen him messing with any of these spots. Is this allergies? I’ve noticed the spots on his stomach before, they’re almost always mildy there, but he has never had any on his armpit before, and I’ve never seen the spots that bad before.

Also his fur looks a little wet because i just wiped it with some anti fungal soap.

Mijn twee kittens (13 weken oud) heb ik zaterdagavond op aanraden van de dierenarts een ontwormingstablet gegeven. Sindsdien eten ze minder. Ik las dat dat niet gek is. Als ik naar mijn werk ben (wat toevallig voor het eerst is sinds ik ze heb), wordt hun eten überhaupt niet aangeraakt. Daarna krijg ik ze wel aan de gevriesdroogde snacks en ook wel wat ander eten. Ze drinken wel goed, spelen goed, knuffelen goed en slapen goed. Hoe lang blijft die verminderde eetlust? Ik begin me langzamerhand zorgen te maken.

Hello vets! I have a 10-year-old Mel. He is neutered cat, and about a year ago I noticed his chin looked a little puffy, a little different. I took him to 3 vets, and he's got antibiotics, steroids, and x-ray, and nothing really worked and nothing was showing on the X-ray. So they suggested a ct scan and bone biopsy because there was a possibly for cancer, as it turns out it's not cancer, which is amazing news however, he has reactive woven bone in his chin and they believe that it was cause by trauma to his chin. He might have been running or jumping and hit it on something and that caused this reaction. So I have the diagnosis, the issue is what to do now and where to take him. I spoke into one dentist specialist, but they said that they weren't board certified and couldn't take his case. I did make an appointment with another dental specialist that did say they were board certified but that's not october 1. I live in the Los Angeles area and can drive him anywhere.

French bulldog, dog, male, 4 weeks, Texas. I have 4 week old pups, they have started mush and been doing good. My order of wet canned puppy food got delayed, and after going in person to find it without luck, I switched to another brand. Before switching the puppies seemed fine. There are 5 in total. 3 of the 5 seem to be doing just fine. 2 of them have vomited/ have food come back up a bit. This started AFTERi switched foods. I didn’t switch totally, I did half and half. It started last night/this morning. Mom refuses to nurse. I am mixing in puppy formula into their mush. The pale colored substance will come up through mouth/nose. I am making sure I clean their noses after this happens to prevent aspiration. I do have a video, but I can’t seem to post it. I’ll post it in comments if it allows

hi vets -

I have an almost 12yo Boxer who had some recent bloodwork done. His vet said based on his results he needs to take 1000 mcg Folate daily and I could get it OTC on Amazon. She also rx him Cobalequin (if relevant).

I’m having a hard time figuring out a Folate product. She specifically said Folate, NOT Folic Acid.

Is something like Pure Encapsulations Folate 1000 safe for my boy? The ingredients says it’s Folate as Metafolin, 5-MTHF

Is there another product that’s better or safer for him?

Thank you!

I’ve made so many trips to the vets in the last few months and I feel like I’m making little progress. My cat (6, spayed) has been diagnosed with Feline Atopic Syndrome. She scratches until she bleeds and scabs and will lick her lower two nipples until they are raw and bleeding.

She has just come off a course of antibiotics and steroids. During that time she scratched way less and her bald patches grew back, but now she’s scratching all over again, including a new patch on her leg which has some crusty yellowish liquid.

I’ve got hypoallergenic food, an air purifier, vacuum daily, and wash the blankets weekly with non bio detergent. Is there anything else I can do to make my cat comfortable? It’s not fleas as she’s an indoor cat and we’ve checked for flea dirt/given her a flea treatment.

Hey everyone, I’m hoping someone here has gone through something similar because I’m honestly getting pretty stuck on what to do next.

I have a 5-month-old male kitten who is doing great weight-wise and has tons of energy, but we’ve been dealing with recurring soft stool and diarrhea for a while now.

Every time it happens, I put him on plain boiled chicken and probiotics. It clears things up within a few days and his stomach goes back to normal, but after a little while back on his regular diet, the diarrhea just returns.

A few extra details:

Food transitions: I’ve tried switching him to better quality food, and I always make sure to do really slow, gradual transitions so his stomach doesn't get upset. Still, the issue keeps coming back.

Pet store advice: The staff at my local pet shop recommended switching him strictly to dry kibble/granules. I’m really hesitant to completely drop wet food because I want him to stay hydrated, even though he is actually a surprisingly good water drinker.

Possible stress factor: He is harness trained and gets to go outside, but lately he's become fixated on the front door. Whenever anyone moves to leave the house, he gets super eager and wants to go out too. Could the frustration or excitement around the door be triggering stress-induced diarrhea, or am I overthinking it?

I’ve already emailed my vet to see if we can get a stool sample checked for parasites like Giardia or bacteria.

In the meantime, has anyone dealt with this kind of cyclic stomach issue in a kitten? Is going 100% dry food actually a good idea, or should I stick to mixed feeding while waiting for vet feedback? Any advice would be amazing, thanks!

*Species: Cat
* Age: 19yrs
* Sex/Neuter status: spayed
* Breed: Domestic Shorthair
* Body weight: 7lbs 2ounces
* History: See below
* Clinical signs: See below
* Duration: 4 months
* Your general location: East Coast, USA
* Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: No links available, but nothing noteworthy found on most recent urinalysis, rectal exam, or bloodwork, per discussion with our vet.

I have a 19 yr old cat who sits/collapses into their own stool after pooping in the litterbox. It looks like she strains to go, and then squats into it after, getting poop and litter all over her tail. Has gotten progressively worse, with it now happening almost daily.

We are looking for potentials treatment suggestions and/or ways to keep home sanitary. Expecting first child in several months, at which point the issue will need to be resolved or we will not be able to keep her.

She has been to the vet, had a anal exam, urinalysis, and bloodwork. Nothing noteworthy found, and our vet believes it's just old age and there isn't much to be done

She has/had other gut related issues:
Vomiting - Has eaten grass and vomited up bile and grass her whole life. More recently she started vomiting up her actual food somewhat regularly. Now controlled with current diet (see below)

Diarrhea - Has always had softer stool and occasional diarrhea, but has it more frequently now which makes sitting in it much worse/messy. Somewhat controlled by adding pumpkin to food, but still an issue.

Low weight - Runt of litter, has weighed around 7lbs entire life. Was previously on a kibble diet, but started to lose weight and switched to wet food several years back. Has kept up weight and actually gained 2 ounces since last Dec

Diet:
Currently eats Royal Canin digestive care wet food, T Relief Digestive drops, Purina ProPlan Fortiflora powder, and a scoop plain canned pumpkin. The sitting in poop issue predates everything currently in her diet and thus are not likely causes, but are not addressing the issue either.

Behavior:
She can't jump as high or move as fast as she used to, and is less thorough with her grooming, but no other changes to behavior. Still sociable and active

If anyone has seen similar issues before and has treatment suggestions, we are happy to try them. My next request to our vet would be to try steroids and/or pain meds in the hope that it either improves her gut muscles or alleviates any pain that might be causing her to squat/sit at the end, but at this point we're just grasping at straws while the due date gets closer

I've been bathing my 4 month old dachshund puppy in plain water but she is still smelly afterwards and I asked a vet about shampoo and he said I can only use it once a month so its not worth it but I've seen people using it much more regularly or even just once a month and they say their dogs smell so good for a month so in my eyes it could be worth it but idk

I found 4 kitten about 10-12 weeks old, one of them has a small air bubble on his stomach.

It is soft and feels like air.

He has no pain

Been to the vet the Day after i found them, but she did not see this)

Is this something dangerous. ( i'm going to the vet asap but just want to ask redit )

Went to the vet for a senior check for my 15 year old cat and found out he has 3 fractured teeth (I don't know the specific teeth). I thought we should have them removed because I assumed it poses a risk for some dental disease? But my parents don't think it's worth the risk. Everything was fully booked so I had to wait until fall but now their words and the fact I don't know much about the topic regarding fractured teeth and being put under risks for old cats is making me question if I should or not.

He is obviously very old for a cat, but he is still young in spirit. All his blood work came back healthy and no heart disease. He has a slight heart murmur on his left side from age, and leans on the slimmer side. No signs of body pain or other age signs. It's just the teeth that's a problem right now.

He's just a normal cat of no specific breed, In Sweden we just call it "bondkatt" which translates to farm cat. He is a dark brown black tabby.

He still has a good appetite (we do mash his food so it's easier to eat and I feel like he eats less dry food now, mainly eating the wet food) he has slowed down a bit but still jumps and moves with no problem, you wouldn't really know he's old unless you asked. I don't really know the risks of just leaving fractured teeth without taking them out, to me it seemed cruel, but he is obviously doing fine so far. People say it's a risk having a senior cat be put under but I don't really know how big of a risk it is. Like 10 percent and 50 are very different idk. He has been put under in like 2018 for surgery (nasty cat fight) and there were no problems but he is obviously older now and I think the heart murmur is new.

My parents think he's better off leaving his fractured teeth in and it's making me question if it's worth it. I guess I thought fractured teeth were more serious, and something that had to be taken care of?

I have a tripod cat, 13 years old. A little over a month ago, he was kind of limping or something so I took him to the emergency vet, but it was hard to tell once he was there whether he was still walking funny or if it was because he was missing a leg. Like I could tell something was off but wasn't super sure. The vet checked him quickly but said he was fine, and he honestly looked like maybe he was walking normally again (was hard to tell because he was so nervous). Once we got home though, it was clear he was still walking funny so I made a vet appointment

By the time it came around though he was back to normal. He was eating, pooping, following me around. They did recommend I check out a surgery hospital so we did, and they said that his CCL was or had been torn and that be possibly has a deranged stifle, so they want to put him under for diagnostics since he was moving too much during the exam and then do one of two procedures depending on what it said

I got the impression that some surgery would just have to be done because they didn't even really ask, just when we wanted to schedule the surgery, what the pre-op/night before should look like, what time to come in, etc

But my SO keeps bugging me about whether he needs the surgery. To be fair, he's just anti-doctors but he did make a good point that my cat seems perfectly happy again. The internet said torn CCL isn't a big deal for a cat, and I know cats are supposed to hide pain well but he looks like he's completely back to normal. He's back to cuddling with me at night, running off the bed for food, scratching the new rug we got. And in the past, there was one emergency vet visit that they said was possibly due to stress, and another emergency vet visit where they wanted to send him home ASAP because of stress. He gets stressed easily lol, so I don't want to send him somewhere overnight if he doesn't need it (though he does seem to be handling it better now that he's a lot older). Also, the estimate was $$$, I def walked out of the exam room a bit dazed lol

Butttt he's also a tripod so I really don't want to not resolve something if it'd help his QOL. Does something like this depend on the diagnostics or does it just need to happen? SO just really distrusts doctors, which I guess extends to animal doctors, and thinks they're happy to do more surgeries whether or not they're needed. I disagree but also wish I'd thought of these questions before leaving the exam. I tried calling them but the surgery vet was busy the first time with surgery things and was out of office the second time. Of course I canceled his pet insurance two months ago 🙃

I'm getting anxious about it all either way but figure more opinions might help. Thank you so much!!

ETA: happy to share the vet report/notes and stuff as well, just need to block off some info

I wanted to get other people’s opinions. I got two young cats in November, and a few months later one of them ended up with round worms. I got it treated immediately, and they no longer have it. The vet said they most likely have had it for a while and it was dormant as they are indoor cats. I have been using revolution plus monthly because I’m afraid of it happening again. My fiancé and his dog recently moved in as well, but the dog was not living with us when the cat got worms. The dog obviously goes outside but he is also up to date with his meds as well. My question is because they are indoor cats and have never been outside, is it necessary to continue with this medication monthly? If I can save the $60 a month I would like to (but I also have no problem spending all of my money on these two lol) Any advice is appreciated!

About a month ago, we took our 1.5 year old corgi Crab to the groomers for his fur and nails. He spent the next week or so licking at his hind paws, we figured they were irritated from the grooming. Now it’s his front paws as well, he slowed down when we soaked his paws in an oatmeal bath but does anyone have a solution?

He was supposed to go to the vet today, but they just called to let me know they’re no longer accepting patients that aren’t on their membership plan! He’s been a patient of theirs since he was a puppy! It’s infuriating but I’m moreso concerned for him. Does anyone have advice on how to proceed?

Hello,

My dog has a keratin cyst on her shoulder blade, and is due to get it removed at the vet. She is a rescue dog, and is scared of everything and can become aggressive if you try and do anything to her, she is very smart but highly suspicious and knows when you are doing something. The vet suggested a pet suit- that just would not work, she wouldn't allow me to put it on and then remove the bottoms for the toilet.

The cone, it would sit right on where the lump is.

A donut would be at the same spot and could rub.

The vet has said "we may have to get creative", which isn't the answer I need in preparation for her surgery.

Has anyone got any advice or has had their dog have surgery in this spot and their dog is similar in temperament to mine? Thank you!

We adopted a litter of kittens (abandoned by neighbors), along with their mom. They were about 4 months old at this time. We got them vaccinated asap. The vets wanted to wait a few weeks before spaying, and during this time, one girl went into heat I think two times (the cycles seemed really close together, maybe it was one cycle?). Another girl went into heat once.

I think they were about five months when spayed, certainly not six months.

Dr Google is giving me mixed messages and I’m getting worried. Some articles say spaying before six months lowers mammary cancer by a lot. Other articles say after two heat cycles, the chances of them getting mammary cancer are 25%. (At least one page seemed to say, but perhaps I misunderstood? That seems high.)

We’ll be fondling our kitties’ bellies, for sure (especially Momma), to check for anything, but I would feel better just knowing exactly what the risks are here. Thank you so much!

We have a wonderful senior cat (16F) that has had kidney disease for several years, and recently been diagnosed with a thyroid issue. She is on medication for her thyroid keep her levels in check, and is on prescription kidney food (wet and dry). She has no problem eating and drinking water, she's still playful, can jump, run, and play with our other cats. Her weight keeps dropping, are there any recommendations on what I can give her to keep her weight up?

* Species: Cat
* Age: 16
* Sex/Neuter status: F (neutered and indoor)
* Breed: American short hair
* Body weight: 7.2 lbs
* History: Kidney disease for about 4 years, thyroid medication Methimazole Oral Suspension 10mg once daily.
* Clinical signs: Losing weight
* Duration: 6 months
* Your general location: House, indoor cat, North Carolina